Big Bang 4 Bux

The ZRX1200R is absolutely one of the best buys for a recent model motorcycle.Review of the ZRX 1200 R submitted on 2006-02-04.

Kawasaki’s ZRX1200R, based on the old KZ1000R Eddie Lawson replica, is one of the best bikes the Kawboys have ever designed. It has the old school vibe of the ELR with the full blown kick of a Ninja.

The ZRX takes many of it’s styling and performance queues from the GPZ1100. Bone stock this bike is putting roughly 113 rwhp to the asphalt. But the real secret of this bike is how unbelievably well it responds to performance mods. I added a Muzzy Header and re-jetted mine and saw a whopping 16 hp gain at the rear wheel! All of the people I know that ride these bikes will concur.

The bike is well balanced too. It handles the twisties like a modern sport bike carving canyon roads and will out accelerate damned near anything in the quarter mile. Wheelies are a breeze on the ZRX. Just roll the throttle and the mighty Kaw points to the heavens. Add header and it will do it in 1st, 2nd and 3rd!

Numerous people at zrxoa.com have reported sub 10 second ET in the ¼ mile with a stock ZRX having only a pipe! The torque of this bike is all guts. It develops 90% of it’s peak by 3000 rpm and is flat all the way up. The torque is one big reason this bike will thump a Busa from redlight to redlight. To say the least, the ZRX1200R is a strong performer especially considering the price. And if you add ZZR 1200 cams (drop in) you can easily realize upwards of 140 hp at the rear wheel. That’s nothing to sneeze at considering the bike weighs a mere 500 lbs.

Top end this bike screams. I’ve had mine indicating 160+ on several occasions and it still had throttle to spare. Even at that speed the flying Kaw was very stable and felt rock solid.

As far as touring…I’ve had mine on a couple long road trips. On the highway it is quite and smooth and if ridden properly will easily exceed 40 mpg. Even cruising 80 – 85 mph I regularly see 37 or 38 mpg. To be fair I replaced the stock seat with a Sargent and radically improved the comfort. Now I can stay in the saddle of this bike for hours with no real serious discomfort.

I also added a laminar lip to my windshield and it radically help for those long road trips. It extends the slipstream much like a fairing and makes touring much more fun.

In closing this bike rocks! A brand new one in 2005 cost about Dollars 7500. Though Kawasaki discontinued the ZRX in ’05 you can still find mint low mileage bikes for less than Dollars 5000. If you should decide to buy a ZRX1200 I assure you….you will NOT regret it.

This review of the 2004 Kawasaki ZRX 1200 R was posted by a visitor on Bikez.com and does not necessarily reflect facts, truth or Bikez.com's opinions. Please report profane or otherwise inappropriate content by following this link.